Swiss officials silent on jet flight to Venezuela

A Dassault Falcon 900 jet reserved for members of the country’s governing Federal Council was spotted at the Caracas airport last weekend. Officials have declined to provide information on the purpose of the trip.

The Swiss Air Force Falcon 900 with the registration number T-785 took off from Belp airport near the Swiss capital on Friday, March 15 at 12:06 pm. After a stop in Guadeloupe, the jet landed at Caracas International Airport at approximately 7:30 p.m. local time. The plane took off again 20 hours later, on Saturday, March 16, and finally returned to its Belp airport on Sunday morning, March 17.

The aircraft movements were recorded by aviation specialist websites such as CivMilAir, which tweeted the Falcon 900’s route.

The defence ministry confirmed that such a flight took place to Swiss public broadcaster RTS. No further information was provided apart from the fact that the flight was made on behalf of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA).

It is suspected the reasons behind the trip could be humanitarian or diplomatic. Switzerland has offered its good offices to mediate in the impasse between President Nicolas Maduro and his political rival Juan Guaido, the self-proclaimed president of the country. However, the FDFA states that such a mediation would require the consent of both parties and that has not yet occurred.